'Because it was never like this' now on view at Bourlaschouwburg

The Walpurgis musical theatre company has been around for over twenty years. The sporadic theatre-goer may not be familiar with this producer, but their record of achievements already includes many beautiful productions, such as 'The Wedding' (co-production deRoovers). It is a collective in which the singer as creator and performer is central. It is no different with their latest creation 'Want zo was het nooit'. For this project, the makers started from Rainer Maria Rilke's poem cycle 'Das Mariënleben' and its setting by Paul Hindemith. Admittedly, at first sight not a bite-sized chunk. But still, unheard is unloved, which is why we went to see or better yet, listen and watch. We attended a performance at the Bourlaschouwburg. A big stage for the frail singer Judith Vindevogel. She performs the vocal part solo accompanied by the pianist Ludovic Van Hellemont. It seems bizarre but she fills the stage in its entirety. It is a delight to hear her sing. She knows how to charm the audience with her flawless voice and does so superbly. We felt that the religious theme added value to the project. The latter could also be said of the scene design by Stef Depover. The performance of this musical poetry does not take too much time but that did not detract from our evening of theatre. Simply put, small but fine yet big on impact.
The accompanying movement performance, we hardly dare call it dance, by French dancer and choreographer Ettienne Guilloteau could not appeal to us as much. But, on the other hand, did not put a damper on it either.

SHORT: A highly enjoyable theatrical experience for musical connoisseurs.

Mediawatchers.be - François Van de Brul

Musical theatre is above all listening to each other

During the Antwerp Kleppers, theatre collective Walpurgis performed for the last time Want zo was het nooit. For this, the theatre group drew its inspiration from the poem cycle Das Marienleben by German poet Rainer Maria Rilke in an adaptation by composer Paul Hindemith. Soprano Judith Vindevogel talks about her experiences with musical theatre.

"The music from Want zo was het nog nooit, without doubt, bears a twentieth-century classical stamp, but it is certainly not easy music. The voices in Paul Hindemith's interpretation of Das Marienleben are all mixed up. Yet we have tried to make it accessible with singing, piano and dance."

"During this performance, there are three of us on stage and the working between us is very organic. Dancer and choreographer Etienne Guilloteau's quest is very similar to Hindemith's. He was particularly inspired by the structures of music."

"In musical theatre, it is very important to listen within a dialogue especially. People listen to each other far too little these days. Just look at politics. I also really worked with pianist Ludovic Van Hellemont in dialogue form. An average musician doesn't have a theatre background, I do. That's why I put the emphasis differently."

"Dance, drama and music, I have already had a taste of the different crafts. The most important thing is the search for what connects them. A singer is quick to think that dance should perfectly follow and emphasise the music, but it is much more interesting to create a layering by separating it from each other. That makes the whole thing more complex. If you are on a stage as a human being and not just as a character, you are more fascinating to watch."

Antwerpsekleppers.be